This is a recent picture of me. Late 2012. I am 45 years old.
This is a picture of me a couple of years ago. Hawaii 2010. Fat and out of shape.

About a year ago last Christmas I realized that I had become fat and out of shape in my old age. I hurt my arm pretty badly about six years ago, and stopped working out. I have spent most of my life fit, and competed as an amateur bodybuilder a couple of times in my late twenties.

I decided that there was no time like the present to start back at it, so I went on a diet and got back in the gym. Within four months I had lost 45lbs, and was looking fit. Within eight months I was in pretty good shape again.

I started working out at twenty one when I was in my MOS school in the Marines. My workouts take about two hours. I have always done a five day split similar to this:

Monday – Chest day
Start out the week right, and put some fun in Mondays. Bench pressing is always fun, and since there is as much ego as strength involved, it is a good body part to do fully rested from the weekend.

Friday – Arm Day
Arms got used during chest, back and shoulders. Now that they have had a day off it is time to hit them fresh. Arm day is good on Friday because if you go out Friday night, your arms are pumped, helping you feel good. If you feel good you are good.

Diet
This diet is for losing fat and trying to keep muscle. The principles are to cuts back breads, potatoes, rice, beer (my personal weakness), sweets, and fried stuff. Keep to eggs, meats, and fruits and vegetables. I add in a little cheese. I drink a lot of unsweetened coffee, iced tea, and water.

When I am where I want to be I go into maintenance mode where I stick to the diet on weekdays, and do what I want on weekends. This works pretty well.

Breakfast 07:00
4 hard boiled eggs, 4 mini bagels 500 calories

Snack 10:00
Apple (or some fruit) 50 calories

Lunch 12:00
Can of tuna, or some lean meat, can of vegetables 500 calories

Snack
Apple 50 calories

Dinner 6:30
Some form of lean meat like a chicken breast and a steamed vegetable 500 calories

Here are pictures of me after a few months of dieting and working out. New Orleans April 2012.

Here is a picture of me hurt. Summer 2005. My biceps tendon came off the bone. The injury was not as painful as the surgery and the recovery.

Here is a picture of me in my mid 30's before I got hurt. San Francisco 2004.

Here are a couple of pictures of me in my late 20's. Florida 1996.

Here are a few pictures of me in my early twenties when I was stationed in Okinawa. There was nothing to do but lift and drink. Circa 1991.

Here is a picture of me in my very early twenties when I started working out. Memphis circa 1988.

I take a multivitamin every morning, two creatine tablets, and two Aleves. At night I take two more Aleves. I have been considering fish oil. That is all the supplementation that I do or have ever done.

I have been in law enforcement for the seventeen years since college, and would not risk my career for with drugs. More importantly I would not risk my health. I plan on living a long time in retirement.

TRT is testosterone replacement therapy. It's basically hormone therapy from a doctor. It's how a lot of middle aged guys are getting jacked. It's not like steroids. It just raises testosterone back up to normal levels.

Thanks. No. I am way too cheap for that. I am sure that would cut into my car hobby funds.

I had no idea what would happen when I started working out again as far as mass building at my age. I just knew I needed to regain some sort of conditioning. I think I just got lucky that some of my muscles remembered what to do. I am a bit weaker now, for example my bench is a struggling 405 instead of the clean 495 it was before I got hurt.

It just proves that fitness is not about age, just about doing it. I can do most everything that I could when I was young except some of the really heavy stuff. I will tell you that I tweak body parts a little easier now, and it takes longer to heal. Unfortunately the alternative to avoiding old age is not optimal.

Good lord, lotta volume. But I hear ya on the age thing, although I'm some yrs younger, muscle memory is a great thing. Also when you get to a point when your muscle "matures" it takes on a dense, thick characteristic. Hats off to ya for sticking with it, as I'm a lifer also. As long as the all mighty sees fit. Kudos!

My girlfriends son left for Marine boot camp three weeks ago. He worked out with me from Thanksgiving until then. I have started writing him one letter per week with a picture of a bronze Marine statue that is my desk ornament representing him doing what he would be doing if he were here. The first one was at Hooters with the girls holding the statue. Today a friend took a couple of pictures of me at the gym with the statue for my second picture. I seriously need a tan...

Damn. 2hr workouts, that's so much volume. You look really good though man. I'm guessing you have a lot of good genes.

Good genes + lots of time/hard work in the gym = swoll as hell.

Since you're aging (not calling you old ) have you ever thought about lowering the weight to maintain what you have? At 45yrs old, I imagine benching 400lbs would take a toll on your joints. I have zero experience with this since I'm still young but would being able to do 5 sets/10 reps of xxx weight be better than pushing yourself?

There is a thread on a Porsche forum that I am on about obesity now being classified as a disease. According to the BMI scale I am borderline overweight to obese.

To support my argument that the scale is wrong, I went to my bathroom and took an ab mirror shot. I have not taken an ab shot in many years. I am flexing, but not twisting my torso, crunching, or putting my hands on my hips, or any other ab showing bodybuilder trick.

Not perfect abs, but not bad for an old man that likes beer. I still need a tan.

That's impressive. And I personally think that obesity being a disease is a bunch of bull ****. Sure there are some instances where the body won't burn the fat or whatever, but 90% of obese people are obese because of their lifestyle choice. Last time I checked, diseases weren't by choice lol